Deflategate: The Wells Report explained

The release of the Wells Report on the findings of Deflategate has continued to create debate. With words like “more probable than not” and “generally aware” the findings appear vague, but for those who took the time to actually read the report it’s pretty damning.

Considering the report consists of 243 pages, it’s no surprise that people haven’t bothered to read it in its entirety.

So here’s the run-down of the report’s findings.

Pre-Deflategate game
Prior to the start of the 2014-2015 season the Patriots locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski exchanged the following texts:

McNally: You working
Jastremski: Yup
McNally: Nice dude….jimmy needs some kicks….lets make a deal…..come on help the deflator
McNally: Chill buddy im just f—ing with you ….im not going to espn……..yet

Remember, these texts were sent prior to deflategate and yet McNally is already calling himself “The Deflator”. This led investigators to believe McNally had deflated balls prior to the Deflategate game.

The next series of texts are from October, following the Patriots’ game against the Jets.

During the game Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is angry about the state of the balls and voices his displeasure to Jastremski, who in turn tells McNally. Brady recalls telling Jastremski that the game balls “f-ing suck” to express his unhappiness.

All three men – Brady, Jastremski and McNally – remember Brady being angry and expressing frustration about the balls.

During halftime of the Jets game, Jastremski exchanged the following texts with an unidentifiable recipient.

Jastremski: Tom is acting crazy about the balls
Jastremski: Ready to vomit!
Recipient: K
Recipient: He saying they not good enough??
Jastremski: Tell later

These are the texts the day after the game.

McNally: Tom sucks…im going make that next ball a f—ing balloon
Jastremski: Talked to him last night. He actually brought you up and said you must have a lot of stress trying to get them done…
Jastremski: I told him it was. He was right though…
Jastremski: I checked some of the balls this morn… The refs f—ed us…a few of then were at almost 16
Jastremski: They didnt recheck then after they put air in them
McNally: F–k tom …16 is nothing…wait till next sunday
Jastremski: Omg! Spaz

The next texts are from the following week, three days before a Sunday game against the Bears.

Jastremski: Can’t wait to give you your needle this week 🙂
McNally: F–k tom….make sure the pump is attached to the needle…..f—ing watermelons coming
Jastremski: So angry
McNally: The only thing deflating sun(day)..is his passing rating

The next day

Jastremski: I have a big needle for u this week
McNally: Better be surrounded by cash and newkicks….or its a rugby sunday
McNally: F–k tom
Jastremski: Maybe u will have some nice size 11s in ur locker
McNally: Tom must really be working your balls hard this week
Jastremski: Size 11?
Jastremski: 2 or 3X?
McNally: Tom must really be on you
McNally: 11 0r 11 half……2x unless its tight fitting
Jastremski: Nah. Hasn‟t even mentioned it, figured u should get something since he gives u nothing

On January 7, 2015, eleven days before the Deflategate game, McNally and Jastremski discussed how McNally would have a “big autograph day” and receive items autographed by Brady the following weekend, before the playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens. McNally and Jastremski exchanged the following text messages:

McNally: Remember to put a couple sweet pig skins ready for tom to sign
Jastremski: U got it kid…big autograph day for you
McNally: Nice throw some kicks in and make it real special
Jastremski: It ur lucky. 11?
McNally: 11 or 11 and half kid

Three days later, according to Jastremski, in the Patriots equipment room and with Jastremski present, Brady did indeed autograph two footballs (pig skins) and handed them to McNally.

Interestingly, when interviewed by investigators, Brady claims he doesn’t know who McNally is or his role within the organisation. McNally, during his interview, tells investigators Tom Brady personally told him of his football inflation preference, leading the investigators to believe Brady is lying about his knowledge of McNally.

Jastremski, would also later acknowledge that Brady knew McNally and McNally’s role as Officials Locker Room attendant.

Deflategate Game
The day before the AFC Championship game, the Colts personnel notified the NFL that they suspected the Patriots might be deflating game balls, this information was passed onto the head referee Walt Anderson.

On the day of the game the referees, including Walt Anderson, inspect both the Colts and the Patriots game balls and find all to be inflated above the 12.5 PSI required. After the inspection the balls are placed in 2 large bags and put in the Officials Locker Room.

The following excerpt is taken straight from the report:

“When Walt Anderson and other members of the officiating crew were preparing to leave the Officials Locker Room to head to the field for the start of the game, the game balls could not be located. It was the first time in Anderson’s nineteen years as an NFL official that he could not locate the game balls at the start of a game. Unknown to Anderson, and without Anderson’s permission or the permission of any other member of the officiating crew, McNally had taken the balls from the Officials Locker Room towards the playing field. According to Anderson and other members of the officiating crew for the AFC Championship Game, the removal of the game balls from the Officials Locker Room by McNally without the permission of the referee or another game official was a breach of standard operating pre-game procedure. According to Anderson, other members of the officiating crew for the AFC Championship Game and other game officials with recent experience at Gillette Stadium, McNally had not previously removed game balls from the Officials Locker Room and taken them to the field without either receiving permission from the game officials or being accompanied by one or more officials”.

Based on videotape and witness interviews, the report says McNally left the Officials Locker Room carrying both bags containing the game balls. While heading towards the field McNally makes a detour into a bathroom, with the balls, and stays there for 1 minute and 40 seconds – according to the report, scientists believe the deflating of 11 balls could be done in well under 1 minute 40 seconds. He then left the bathroom and took the bags of game balls to the field.

The referees search for McNally and the balls but find neither. They are concerned enough to grab the replacement bag of balls to take to the field. They eventually do find McNally and the balls on the field.

Considering the referees were warned about the Patriots deflating balls prior to the game and the fact McNally took the balls in suspicious circumstances, why didn’t the referees re-check the PSI of the balls at this point? My guess is they were concerned about getting the game started on time, but surely they could have tested one or two to see if they had been tampered with?

Ofcourse, they did eventually re-test them at half-time, after the Colts got hold of one of the Patriots balls following a Brady interception and noticed it was unusually deflated.

Each of the eleven Patriots balls tested at halftime measured below the minimum 12.5 psi level. Each of the four Colts balls tested measured within the permissible 12.5 to 13.5 psi range. In addition, the average pressure drop of the Patriots game balls exceeded the average pressure drop of the Colts balls by 0.45 to 1.02 psi.

The report goes onto state that scientists believe there is no reasonable explanation for the Patriots balls to deflate as much as they did during the game.

Post-Deflategate game
“Following the game, before he left the stadium, McNally was interviewed by members of NFL Security. During that interview, McNally did not mention that he had taken the game balls into the bathroom. Instead, he stated that he walked directly to the field and that nothing unusual occurred during the walk from the locker room to the field”.

Of course the video footage proved this to be a lie. McNally would later confess to taking the balls into the bathroom but wouldn’t confess to deflating the balls.

The Patriots, while initially fully co-operating with the investigation, would later refuse to allow Jim McNally to be re-interviewed. Which, the investigators believe, hindered their report and violated the clubs obligation to co-operate with the investigation.

Also hindering the report was Tom Brady’s refusal to let investigators check his phone, which they requested.

“Even though those requests were limited to the subject matter of our investigation (such as messages concerning the preparation of game balls, air pressure of balls, inflation of balls or deflation of balls) and we offered to allow Brady‟s counsel to screen and control the production so that it would be limited strictly to responsive materials and would not involve our taking possession of Brady’s telephone or other electronic devices”.

Tom Brady, did however, agree to be interviewed and answered questions voluntarily.

What happens now?
I think it’s fair to assume someone definitely deflated the balls. As the report suggests it was more than likely Jim McNally – AKA The Deflator – who did the deflating and it was John Jastremski, who more than likely, asked and compensated McNally to do so.

It’s worth mentioning that one of Jastremski’s main roles within the organisation is preparing Tom Brady’s game balls. It’s his job to make sure, come game day, that Brady is happy with the footballs provided.

It’s fairly easy to assume, from reading the above text messages, that McNally and Jastremski were under some pressure to provide Brady footballs he’s comfortable playing with.

Although the investigators were unable to find evidence of Brady asking for footballs to be deflated below the legal limit, the report did go on to say “based on the totality of the evidence, that it is more probable than not that Brady was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski”.

Even the staunchest of Patriots fans would find the report quite damning. Although there isn’t a smoking gun, there’s enough circumstantial evidence for the NFL to hand down suspensions.

Most NFL insiders are predicting Tom Brady to be suspended from anywhere between 2-6 games. The Patriots will probably get fined, maybe even lose a draft pick or two. As for Jim McNally and John Jastremski, I think it’s fair to say their careers in the NFL will almost certainly be ended as soon as the NFL hands out their punishments.

Whether you think there is enough evidence or not, the Wells Report and the whole Deflategate saga in general, has tainted the reputation of the Patriots even further and possibly tainted the reputation and legacy of their greatest ever player.